public health Homework

Accessibility Scavenger Hunt

Directions:

You will summarize your results as part of Module 6 Discussion Board and answer the following questions:

· How did the places you visited during the scavenger hunt make your local community more or less accessible to people with various types of disabilities?

· How did this activity relate to your understanding of health disparities due to disability?

· Answer the discussion questions depending on the result of scavenger hunt and use some of the resources in this module and cited articles.

· Some of the resources in the module:

Removing the Stigma of Disability | Adam Pearson | TEDxBrighton

Duration: (13:59)

· Don’t forget to make the discussion in the question from like always.

I visited a local playground, and the gym in my neighborhood. Also, I visited the Obgy clinic at UA medical center in order to complete my scavenger hunt task.

TASK #1 – Examine a vending machine. At the gym (location) for blind ppl

a. The buttons ARE / ARE NOT marked with Braille. for blind ppl

b. The buttons ARE / ARE NOT easy to use.

c. The items ARE / ARE NOT easy to grab from the vending machine door.

d. The machine IS/IS NOT in an accessible location.

TASK #2 – Visit a local medical/health department or clinic. UA medical center Obgyn clinic (location)

a. Number of large print brochures = 2 small brochures

b. The clinic IS/IS NOT in an accessible location. Yes, the clinic in accessible location

c. The clinic office HAS/DOESN’T have a ramp or elevator? The clinic has an elevator

TASK #3 – Explore your work or other frequently visited office.

a. Does the office have a TTY? YES / NO

b. Number of staff members trained to use the TTY? = None

c. Number of staff members trained to use phone or video relay service? = None

d. Number of staff who knows American Sign Language? None

e. The office IS/IS NOT in an accessible location. yes

f. The office HAS/DOESN’T have a ramp or elevator. yes

TASK #4 – Take a tour of your local playground or park.

1. Number of steps between street/sidewalk and playground = between 6 to 7 teps

2. Number of ramps between street/sidewalk and playground = 2

3. Are the steps and ramps marked with bright colored paint, raised bumps, or grooves to show that there is a change in the surface level? YES / NO

4. The floor of the playground is made out of . . . Cement Sand Woodchips Rubber Other________

5. It is EASY / HARD for people to walk on. Hard

6. It is EASY / HARD for people to push a wheelchair on. Hard

7. There ARE/ARE NOT accessible swings or other equipment. Just a big slide, no accessible swing.

Respond to 2 of your classmate: ( citation is recommended to support your opinion).

1- Respond to Kate:

How has society subconsciously forgotten about disabled bodies?

· Wow, I knew able bodies, and disabled bodies were a topic I didn't learn much about, but this is frankly a topic I had almost forgotten. I can't help but feel like the majority of our very ignorant society that has nearly forgotten about disabled people. I went to my local mall, OBGYN office, my job (restaurant), and playground to complete this scavenger hunt, and found that the majority of my daily life is incredibly inaccessible.

· The vending machine I used was touch screen, which would not have been accessible to blind people, or wheelchair-bound people. It was tall, andd you couldn't feel any buttons or braille, it was great for able-bodied people, but that's not everyone in our society. My local doctor's office had no large print brochures, or anything that disabled people could take, at least in the front area of the office. The office does have a ramp and elevator, however.

· My job did not have a computer for disabled people, however it did have a ramp for entry, and flat floors for disabled people to sit. This is a situation I see often, wheelchair-bound persons needing flat flooring in order to sit at a table to eat. This would not be something I would consider if I didn't work at a restaurant. Lastly, my local park required people to walk up 10 steps or a very long ramp to access the woodchip-ground playground. This playground is clearly not built with disabled children or adults in mind.

· This hunt made me realize that disabled people face disparities in every.single.aspect. of their lives, some cannot even go out to dinner normally. If disabled people cannot even dine like the rest of society, they must have trouble getting accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare too. This hunt served as an analogy for me to understand how difficult life can be for disabled people, and how their disparities surge in every part of life.

2- Respond to Erica:

How can we Reduce the Stigma Surrounding People with Disabilities?

There was a movie that came out in 2016 called “Me before You” starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin. It was a story about a paraplegic (Will) falling in love with his caregiver (Lou). Throughout the film, Lou tries to convince Will that life was worth living despite his disability. Days after the movie’s release, the disabled community exhibited outrage about the way writers chose to end the film (Will kills himself). Disabled rights activist groups said the story was a repugnant misrepresentation of the lives of the majority of the people living with a disability. One activist member stated the story sends the erroneous message that a life with a disability is not living a real existence. The depiction of the main character supports the stigma that disabled people’s lives are limited within the physical limitations of their disability. Another film writer, Ryan O’Connell with cerebral palsy, said that the film reminds individuals with a disability of their constant encounters with able-bodied people, that it’s usually involves a measure of pity. People with disabilities have been dealing with some form of stigma throughout history. How can society navigate away from these perceptions and be more inclusive?

Adam Pearsont’s TEDxBrighton talk highlighted some of the issues encountered by individuals with a disability. People with disabilities are always presumed to be helpless, unable to take care of themselves, and incapable of deciding on their own. People also assume that those with a specific disability, such as communication impairment, automatically have other disabilities such as an intellectual disability. As a result, people hesitant to interact or even make eye contact with them. Transforming society into a more inclusive one is everyone’s responsibility. As we have learned, many of the issues associated with disparity are strongly tied to biases and stereotypes that began through medical "research" then translated into "facts" that are now commonly held societal beliefs. It is my position that words such as "disability" and "race" should not be factors when addressing health because these designations help perpetuate such beliefs. These names have historically hurt minority communities because categorization divides people and compares one group ( the dominant culture) to another (minority) group. It sends a negative message that one group is deficient or less than the other in some way no matter the intent. As long as healthcare institutions and society, in general, keep perpetuating the idea that people are somehow “different” and those differences are so paramount that they must be studied and researched in ways that “other” people, the industry will never reach the communities they seek to serve. Such designations are associated with attitudes and mindsets that justified abuse and mistreatment.

I initially liked the idea presented in chapter eleven of our reading suggesting a focus on quality care. The concept is community-based and only seeks the best healthcare for all. However, the reading goes on to suggest that quality care should still use "race" to track progress, but that would be a mistake because the approach still uses a false identity marker. 

Source: Removing the Stigma of Disability | Adam Pearson | TEDxBrighton